Art of evaluating sanitary paper products



July 22, 1952 J. T. SOBOTA ART OF EVALUATING SANITARY PAPER raonuc'rs Filed Oct; 5. 1949 fair/YT R.

qrrol ewzr/ast Patented July 22, 1952 fantasies H I AR'IOF stem I I John fireen Bayawisnassigi ie .tellt fl This invention relates-toimprovements in the art; of evaluating sanitary paper products;

One of the qualities of-sanitary paper products such as toilet paper-,paper towels, napkins, facial tissue andthe'jlikewhich is judged most critically 5 'by;za prospective purchaser, is absorbency and absorbencyis particularlyjmportant in the case of toilet paper where, if this qualityis not present,

--a plugged toilet is likely- .to result.

test. I v i, 4

A further object of theinvention is to provide improved apparatus for carrying out the method, the said apparatus being in easily portableform sothatit may be carried from one location to another and operated beforea prospective buyer.

A further object of'theinvention is to'iprovide an improved method and apparatus whichgpermits the ready comparison .of z different-brands or grades. 7

A further object of the invention is to provide improved method and apparatus by means of which the rate of disintegration of paper products may be determined and expressed numerically in terms of the number of shaking strokes necessary to produce a predetermined degree of disintegration.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the improvements in the art of evaluating sanitary paper products, and

all its parts and combinations, as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the preferred form of apparatus which may be employed to carry out the improved method:

Fig. l is a perspective view, principally in side elevation showing the improved apparatus with a liquid container supported thereon;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view looking principally at the opposite side of the apparatus from Fig. 1 with the liquid container removed; and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the container alone showing it in liquid discharge position, parts being broken away and shown in vertical section.

be readily understood by anyone watching the ss stlw t kihee ried rI semi-circular, bands FIB, whichare secured t!) Howard Paper Company,, Green Bay, Wis., .a corporation ofWisconsin' f Application-October 5, 194asena1 no; 119,629

' l Claims. (o1.*13 159) vtliteferring more particularly tofih. drawing, the numeral. 5 designates suitable base haying mounted thereon an electric motor. .6. .fI hrough suitable;reduction -gearing in a .gear box I the motor drives ashaf-t fl, and thelatterhas rigidly mounted ,thereon a disc orwheel,i. -,Eccentri cally loeatedbn the disc .or wheel 9.15 a pin-or crank .19 which operates a pitmanJ l, -thell;atter being pivotally. connected as at 12 toanoscillatory arm I 3 at a point intermediate. the lengthof said arm.- -Thelowerend of the arm I 3. is pivoted as at, Ill :toaa bracket 14" 'onflthe base .5 The upper end of the, arm I '3 carries .a cradle .,2l3 for removably. supporting a container. l 5 I on; its ,side, as in Fig. l. The cradle 24 may be -ofany'form to suit the particular shapeof the container. -Where. a; bottle of. the, type; illustrated in Fig. .1

',is employed, the cradle may include a longitudinal ember it [having an angplarlyflbent eridjf'f for, engagementwith and having itsopposite nd bottle. 5 The cradle .mayal the-member l is 1 and which; ext'e l ti firli s a r h i well known. form having A link-32 has...on'e-. end

pivoted as let v23 o-the..opei' ating@ arm v2 er [the counter and has its other end pivotally' connected to the crank pin Ill. While the use of a counter is preferred because it makes the test more convincing, it is, nevertheless, possible to perform.

an effective demonstration without a counter.

The container l5 has a discharge opening 25 formed in its neck 26. It is also preferably equipped with a vent hole 21 which may be removably closed by a stopper 28.

To make the most effective type of demonstration it is preferred to have a trap-simulating attachment 29 for the bottle, which attachment has one end equipped with a rubber adapter 30 insertible into the opening 25 of the bottle, the other end of the trap simulating device being open as at 3| While the device 29 is shown with a double bend, only one bend may be used if desired.

In its broadest aspects, the improved method is carried out as follows: The bottle or container 5 is filled approximately half fullof Water at room temperature. There is then inserted into the bottle a predetermined quantity of the paper to be tested. In the case of toilet paper it'is preferred to insert three sheets of 4% x 4 /2 paper 3 or the equivalent. The bottle is then closed by a stopper or cover 32 and shaken a predetermined number of times. It is then opened and inverted. In the case of toilet paper, if it has been shaken 125 times, .a good grade of toilet paper should flow freely throughthe neck and out of the bottle. During the test the transparent container enables one to observe the behavior of the paper so that absorbency or lack of absorbency can be readily noticed. Generally, an absorbent paper will wet quickly and settle in the bottle.

In order to make the test more realistic, it is preferred to employ some form of trap-simulating device, such as the member 29, when the bottle i inverted after it has been shaken. A good grade of paper should flow freely out of the open end 3| of the trap 29. However, when a' trap is employed it is generally necessary to vent the bottle by removing the stopper 28.

The apparatus illustrated and heretofore described makes it possible to carry out the method easily and quickly, and makes accurate comparisons of severalbrands of paper possible. When using the improved apparatus, the motor 6 is operated until the counter 20 registers on its dial 33 a predetermined number of shaking strokes. Thus, if the apparatus is used to compare competitive brands, the buyer can tell from the counter that each brand has been shaken the same number of times.

- The apparatus illustrated can be made in relatively small, compact form to fit a relatively small salesmans case. Thus the outfit may be taken along on sales trips as an aid when interviewing prospective buyers.

The improved method and apparatus make it possible to express the rate of disintegration of paper numerically in terms of the number of strokes necessary to disintegrate the paper to such a degree that the paper and water will flow freely from the bottle when inverted.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention which is particularly designed for'the handling of three sheets of 4 x4 toilet paper, the speed of the motor reducer is 160 R. P. M. and the capacity of the container is such that when it is half full it contains 125 cc. of water.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contem- 4 plated as may come within the scope of the claims. 1

What I claim is:

1. A method of evaluating sanitary paper or the like comprising: inserting a predetermined quantity of completely formed paper in a body of liquid, shaking the ;paper and liquid together in a predetermined manner a predetermined number of times while'confined to provide a mixture, then causing the mixture of paper and liquid to flow under the influence of gravity, and guiding the flow of the mixture through an elongated path which extends first in one direction and then in a generally reverse direction while at the same time confining it within predetermined maximum limits, which limits permit passageof said mixture if formed from paper having a predetermined standard rate of disintegration and resist passage of said mixture if formed from paper having less than said predetermined standard rate of disintegration.

2. A method of evaluating sanitary paper or the like comprisingz' inserting a predetermined quantity of completely formed paper in a body of liquid, shaking the paper and liquid together in a predetermined manner a predetermined number of times while confined to provide a mixture, then causing the mixture of paper and liquid to flow under the influence of gravity while- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITEDv STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 361,070 Long Apr. 12, 1887 910,002 Klemm et a1 Jan. 19,1909

1,840,101 Jespersen Jan. 5, 1932 2,266,744 Dunkelberger Dec. 23, 1941 2,281,603 Shoup May 5, 1942 2,469,013 Sobota May "3, 1949 

